Williams employees volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

Wearing pink hard hats and blue Williams shirts, 16 employees enthusiastically raised walls on a new Habitat for Humanity home in Tulsa, creating the framework for a local family to realize the dream of home ownership.

They were joined by other community volunteers at Women Build, an annual event to showcase the strength and positive impact of women in industry, home ownership and community support.

Cameron Walker, chief executive officer of Green Country Habitat for Humanity, said women can face barriers to home ownership that include gender wage gaps, higher interest rates and stricter lending requirements. Single women and women of color often face greater challenges due to financial insecurity and compounded biases.

He said Green Country Habitat offers financial and home ownership classes, downpayment assistance and low-interest loans with bank partners, creating equal access to home ownership for all qualified individuals.

By the end of the day, walls were in place at four homes in North Tulsa, thanks to Williams employees and seven other teams.

“You’re going to see the fruits of everyone’s labor here and what can be achieved in just such a short order when the community comes together,” Walker said.

Led by IT business systems analyst Essence Montgomery, the Williams team included members of the Women of Williams employee resource group, along with male allies.

Montgomery said she has personal connection to Habitat for Humanity.

“My aunt was actually a recipient of a Habitat for Humanity home, and I was able to help with some of her sweat equity building homes,” she said. “Women Build means to me that women can give back and it just empowers me to be able to teach. Even my young daughter is seeing that women can do anything.”

Williams also supports Habitat for Humanity organizations in Oklahoma, Ohio, Colorado and Texas, and in the past five years, employees have volunteered more than 1,300 hours.